When In Doubt, Laugh It Out
by Autobot-Tiff
Summary: After a recent run-in with Megatron, the Decepticon leader manages to scar the little scout, Bumblebee, once again. Smokescreen decided to help his friend get over that experience by cheering him up with a hilarious drawing. But what happens when that drawing becomes noticed by Optimus himself? Requested by Katherine10


**Transformers Prime belongs to Hasbro.**

**Requested by Katherine10. Thank you for this lovely adorbs idea! This one's for you, so hope u like! I hope I made you smile! You'll probably thank me later for this story.**

**Think of this as a sequel to Catformers. Go check out my story cover for this story. *giggles***

**Rated T just in case because of the fight scene in the beginning.**

**When in Doubt, Laugh it Out**

Fear. That's all that went through all the Autobot's mind processors at the moment, especially Bumblebee's. He was once again face-to-face with the mech he feared the most: Megatron.

Fighting him from a distance was no problem, but it still sent a twinge of fear in his chest. But now that he was nearly in front of him, he had a hard time keeping it together.

Every time he glanced at his glowing red optics, he saw dreaded flashbacks of Tyger Pax. The day he lost his ability to speak.

At that moment, the Autobots were currently engaged in a physical fight against the Decepticons. They were trying to stop the Cons from taking over a secret Energon mine. Obviously, the Decepticons weren't going to give up so easily so the Autobots had no choice but to fight.

After taking down a few Vehicons, Bumblebee suddenly found himself face-to-face with the Decepticon tyrant. He was absolutely terrified, but he knew he couldn't let his fear show as an Autobot out on the battlefield. The scout knew if he let his emotions show, it would make him look weak and even more vulnerable. And he didn't want that.

And so he put on the bravest face he could, and kept on fighting. As he was fighting and dodging every attack, he noticed Optimus was being outnumbered by many Vehicons. His leader was suddenly trapped under a massive pile on of Vehicons holding him down, while the rest of them collected whatever Energon they found there in the mine.

Forgetting all about Megatron, Bumblebee rushed out to save his leader and surrogate father. Using his double barrel blasters on both arms, he fired repeatedly at the Vehicons without accidentally hurting Optimus underneath.

Within a few seconds, all Vehicons dropped to floor, completely limp. Seeing how now half of his army had been defeated, Megatron grew more infuriated. "You'll pay for that, scout!" he hissed angrily.

Bumblebee yelped as he was roughly pushed to the ground. It shocked him at first, but he quickly recovered.

As soon as he got to his pedes, many punches were fired at his face and upper body. He tried blocking the oncoming punches, but he still got hurt in the process.

The scout yelped in pain as Megatron fired more punches at him. Every blow was painful, and made him weaker. Soon, he couldn't even lift his arms to aim his double barrel blasters. And every time he blasted, another stronger punch was fired at him.

Bumblebee cried out in pain as a blast struck his shoulder. He fell to the ground hard. Energon was starting to leak from his open wounds. He couldn't fight on anymore.

Despite the pain that weakened him, he panicked when Megatron suddenly grabbed him by his throat. Right away, it sent him into flashbacks of Tyger Pax. The little scout whimpered in fear, and struggled violently to break free.

The grip on his throat tightened. Now Bee was terrified. He felt like he couldn't breathe with Megatron's hand tightly wrapped around his neck.

The Decepticon leader noticed how terrified the scout looked as he held him by his throat. He knew what he was thinking as he held him like that. He tightened his grip on the scout's throat even more, just to see his reaction.

Bumblebee whimpered louder and let out terrified beeps. He couldn't hold back his tears of fright. As soon as he let his tears fall, Megatron threw him to the ground again. "Pathetic youngling..." he muttered angrily.

The impact from the throw nearly made Bee pass out. He was loosing Energon quickly. And as a result, he felt dizzy and his vision started to tunnel. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was his Energon-stained hands, and Optimus kneeling down next to him.

Prime's voice sounded like he was speaking miles away. "It's okay, Bumblebee. You're going to be fine. I need you to stay with me..." And then everything went black.

*** * * * * * * * * * * * ***

When Bumblebee finally awoke, he felt himself laying down. Something soft and warm was draped over his body. He rubbed his optics, and saw that he was covered with his thermal blanket.

Looking around, he saw that he was in the med bay. The overhead lights were dimmed to a soft comforting glow. He was about to sit up, but immediately fell back down as a wave of pain racked his whole body.

Looking down at himself, he saw that his cuts were patched up and the dents in his armor were fixed. Very carefully, he reached up and touched his throat. He wasn't sure if his throat was damaged again so he wanted to check.

Very hesitantly, he emitted a few sounds and words. He sighed in relief as he heard the sounds of beeps and clicks. Even though it wasn't his real voice, he was grateful that he could still communicate through the familiar-sounding beeps and whirs.

_At least I'm safe back at base_, he thought as he laid down again. _Where is everybody? It seems so empty here. _He tried getting some rest, but he couldn't fall asleep. The events that happened earlier kept replaying in his mind processor.

Even though he was safe back in the base, he could still feel Megatron's hands grabbing at his throat. Whimpering, he snuggled under his blanket and shut his optics tightly.

Bee jumped as he heard the med bay doors slide open. But he relaxed as soon as he saw his friend, Smokescreen, walk in. _"Smokey? What are you doing here?" _he asked groggily.

"I just wanted to check on you. You took a pretty nasty blow back there. We were all worried you wouldn't wake up. Oh, here." Smokescreen walked up to the medical berth, and handed him an Energon cube. "I brought this for you. You know...in case you get hungry or something."

_"Thanks." _Bee accepted the cube, and drank from it. _"Hey, where is everyone? It seemed really empty when I woke up."_

"Oh don't worry, everyone's here. They're just in the main hangar. But Ratchet did say he wanted to keep you here for today just to make sure you're doing fine. And Optimus wanted to give you the week off to recover."

_"What? You mean I'm gonna stay here all week?"_

Smokescreen gave him a sad smile. "Yeah. Sorry, Bee. But don't worry. I promised Optimus and Ratchet I would help take care of you. You know, keep you company when no one's around. Pretty great, right?" He tried to sound optimistic.

Bumblebee didn't seem so convinced. He turned his helm away, and sighed.

"Aw c'mon, Bee. Don't be like that. You just need to recover, that's all."

_"I know, but I hate staying inside here with nothing to do. I know I got hurt back there, but that doesn't mean I'm totally helpless."_

"Relax, Bee." Smokescreen patted his shoulder. "Things will work out. You'll see...So how you feelin'? You took up a lot of damage back there. The last thing I saw was Megatron beating you into a pulp before you passed out."

At the mention of the Decepticon leader, Bumblebee felt a lump building up in his throat. He pulled his blanket over his helm and whimpered loudly.

"Oh I'm so sorry, Bee!" Smokescreen felt bad about what he said. He didn't mean to bring up the earlier incident. That encounter with Megatron really shook Bee up and made him so scared afterwards.

Smokey carefully rubbed the trembling lump. "I'm sorry, Bee. I didn't mean to upset you. Oh Primus, I'm a monster."

The med bay doors opened again, and Ratchet walked in. He first thing he noticed was Bumblebee whimpering and hiding under his thermal blanket. "Bumblebee, are you alright? What's wrong?"

Bee quickly wiped the tears from his optics. He took the blanket off his helm. _"Nothing. It's fine. I'm fine," _he answered quickly.

"Well I see you have finally woken up. How are you feeling?"

_"Um...o-okay, I guess. Everything still hurts, though."_

Ratchet carefully examined the scout's limbs and joints. "Because of all the damage from earlier, Optimus and I have made the decision to keep you here at base for a week."

_"What? But Ratchet—"_

"Don't argue with me," the medic scolded firmly, yet gently. "It's for your own good. We do not want you to hurt yourself even more."

_"But if I can't leave the base, then what am I supposed to do? Spend the whole week sitting in this berth?" _Bee asked angrily.

"Bumblebee, _relax." _Ratchet gently sat him down as Bee tried to sit up. "You'll only stay here in the med bay for today. And then tomorrow, I will let you stay in your room so you'll recover more comfortably."

_"Aww but I don't want to!"_

"I said _relax. _You won't be alone. Smokescreen here agreed to keep you company, and get you anything you need. It'll be fine. Now, I really should do a physical scan and then a quick maintenance check to make sure your internal systems are functioning properly." He glanced at Smokescreen. "Smokescreen, do you mind stepping outside for a few minutes, please?"

Smokey nodded. "Sure thing, Ratch." He waited patiently outside the med bay for several long minutes. From behind closed doors, he could still hear the whines and protests coming from Bumblebee, saying that he was fine and Ratchet didn't need to check him.

The doors slid open again. "Alright, I'm done," said Ratchet. "You can go inside and see him if you want. But just make sure he doesn't move around too much."

Smokescreen poked his helm inside the med bay. "You feeling better?"

_"Not really. I hate it how I can't leave the base for a week. And worse, I'm probably gonna have nightmares because of that fight between me and Megatron earlier." _Bumblebee folded his arms and pouted. Smokescreen had to hold back a giggle because Bee looked cute even when he was upset.

"That's why I'm here, Bee. I'll always be here for you." He embraced the scout in a warm hug, to which Bee happily returned. Bumblebee suddenly buzzed a yawn. "You tired?"

_"A-A little," _Bee said, rubbing his optics tiredly. _"But I don't think I can go into recharge. I've got too many things on my processor. E-Especially the encounter I had with Megatron earlier..."_

"Don't worry, Bee." Smokescreen patted his helm. "I'll take your mind off of—the um..._incident. _Hey, how bout a story? Optimus told me you love stories, and that they help you fall into recharge."

_"Well...okay."_

"Great! But first, just lie down and get comfy 'cause I've got a good story just for you." Bumblebee smiled and snuggled under his blanket again. Smokescreen sat comfortably next to him on the berth.

"Now...did I ever tell you the story about my first battle with the Decepti-creep Soundwave?" Bee shook his helm. "Of course not. Nobody ever asks about my amazing battle stories anymore. Well, this happened a long, long time ago..."

As he was talking, Smokescreen decided to use interactive hand gestures to make the experience seem more enjoyable and fun.

"So there I was," he began dramatically, spreading his arms out. "on the roof of this really tall building—I think it was the Iacon Hall of Records. Anyways, Cons were attacking, and I was assigned to guard the doors. But of course, the Cons wouldn't do a breaking-and-entering so they attacked from above. I figured I had to do something, or else the whole building would be destroyed. So I quickly climbed all the way up to the roof."

While saying that last sentence, Smokescreen walked his fingers up along Bee's shin to his knee, and perched his two fingers where he had his knees bent on the berth. Bee giggled as he felt a slight tingly feeling on his leg.

"And then, out of nowhere, I see something coming straight at me." Smokescreen used his other hand to represent the Decepticon Soundwave. He spread out his thumb and pinky finger out to the side to mimic Soundwave in his alt mode.

"I instantly recognized that it was Soundwave. He then dive-bombed me," Smokey swooped his hand down to Bee's face, making him shut his optics out of reflex. "and fired many plasma blasts at me. Like this!"

Smokescreen suddenly slipped his hands under Bumblebee's blanket, and then started jabbing and wiggling his index fingers into his sides. And while doing that, he mimicked the sound of rapid gunfire by rolling his r's. "_Trrrrrrrrrrr! Trrrrrrrrrrrr!"_

Bee squirmed on the berth, giggling loudly. _"Smokey-hee-hee-hee-hee!! Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee!! Okay, I get it!! Stop i-hi-hi-hi-hit!!"_

Smokescreen pulled his hands from under the blanket. "So what did I do at a time like that? Duh! Fight back, of course!" He positioned his hands to resemble finger guns. "So I aimed my blasters, and fired liked there was no tomorrow! _Pew-pew-pew-pew-pew! Pew-pew-pew!"_

Bee giggled madly as Smokey lifted the blanket, and gently poked all over his tummy and sides. Instinctively, the scout pushed at his hands to make him stop.

When Smokescreen stopped, he decided to end his story by really making his best friend laugh. "I thought I took down that creep for good. I really did." He inched closer to Bumblebee, moving his fingers teasingly. Bee hugged his blanket close, and giggled sweetly in anticipation.

"But little did I know...that as soon as I had my guard down...Soundwave would sneak up to me. Closer...and closer...until...he jumped out from behind and got me!" Smokescreen suprised Bumblebee by rapidly tickling his belly.

Bee immediately started laughing. _"HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! SMOKEY, NO-HO-HO-HO! STOP! STA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP!"_

But Smokescreen didn't stop. He wanted to see Bee completely happy again. And besides, he loved tickling his little friend and seeing the funny reactions from him.

Pretty soon, Bumblebee was a squirming giggling mess on the berth. Due to all his moving around, he actually kicked his blanket off of his body.

Little did they know, Optimus was secretly watching them from the doorway. He wanted to come by to check on Bumblebee since he heard he finally woke up. But as soon as he saw what Smokescreen was doing, he decided not to walk in there and interrupt their fun moment together.

So he just stood by the doorway, with a smile across his face as he watched Smokescreen tickling Bumblebee. It was an adorable sight to see.

Smokescreen suddenly yelped as Bee nearly fell of the berth. He was quick to catch him in his arms before he hit the floor. Bumblebee giggled louder as he felt himself nearly upside down, leaning against Smokey as he tried to hold him up.

"Wow...you're really heavy," Smokescreen grunted as he tried to lift the scout back on the berth. Bumblebee giggled like a sparkling at each of Smokescreen's attempts to lift him up.

From the corner of his optic, Smokescreen saw Optimus standing by the doorway. "Optimus! H-Help me..!" Smokey was loosing feeling in his legs as he tried pushing Bee back up against his back. "Hurry! He's crushing my door wings!" The scout giggled again, like if he was enjoying Smokescreen's suffering.

Optimus quickly came over and helped him. "Careful, Smokescreen. We don't want to move him around too much."

"Oh, I know. I just wanted to make him laugh after what happened today." Smokey leaned down to Bee's optic level. "Did it work?"

Bee nodded. _"Mm-hm. Thanks, Smokey."_

Prime turned to Smokescreen. "It's getting late now, and Bumblebee really needs to get some rest so he can recover." Smokescreen took the silent hint and nodded.

Bee's face suddenly filled with worry. _"Wait! But...I-I don't wanna sleep by myself. I'm...still scared."_

Smokey was saddened when he said that. That Megatron encounter really shook him up, both physically and mentally. So he quickly offered to stay in the med bay, and sleep with Bumblebee.

"Are you sure you are okay with that?" Optimus asked. "Because if not, I can stay with him."

"No, no, it's okay. I want to stay with Bee." Smokescreen glanced at Bumblebee. "Are you okay with me spending the night with you, Bee? Or do you want to sleep with Optimus instead?"

_"No I wanna sleep with you, Smokey."_

"Very well," said Prime. He came up to Bumblebee, and gave him a big hug. "Sleep tight, my little mech. Don't let what happened today plague your thoughts. I know you are stronger than that."

The scout lowered his helm. _"Okay..." _he beeped quietly.

"And don't let the bed bugs bite, too," Smokescreen suddenly piped up. He scooted closer to Bee, and gently poked all over his sides and belly again. "Because there are literally thousands of them that could be hiding under the berth, waiting...watching."

"Exactly," Optimus said with a smile over Bumblebee's sweet giggles. He leaned close to the scout's audio receptor. "You might want to watch out, Bumblebee. You never know when those pesky little bugs will come out, and start munching on your armor."

Bee squealed and fell back on the berth as he felt Optimus' lips gently nip at his neck. He scrunched up his shoulder, trying to protect his neck from the soft tickling.

"And you definitely don't wanna recharge with your pedes dangled over the edge, either," Smokescreen said, taking his left ankle. "'Cause they'll just crawl all over your little ped." He spidered his fingers under Bumblebee's ped, making him twitch his leg and giggle harder.

"But most importantly," Optimus said, lifting the blanket up to expose Bee's stomach. "I would advise you to recharge with your blanket on because even the smallest of bugs will want to crawl through the gaps and cracks of your armor."

The little scout couldn't stop giggling as Prime softly traced the patterns of his stomach plating with one hand, and gently tickled his belly with the other. _"Okay, oka-ha-ha-ha-ha-hay!! Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee!! I get it!! Both of you, sto-ho-ho-ho-hop plea-hee-hee-hee-hease!!"_

Optimus gave him one last hug before getting off the berth. He gave Smokescreen a quick hug, too, and then left the med bay to recharge in his own room.

Smokescreen crawled onto the medical berth, and wrapped an arm around Bumblebee. Bee instantly snuggled up beside him. Luckily, the medical berth was big enough for two bots so they both had enough room.

The silence was broken when Bumblebee winced and moaned. Smokescreen looked down, and saw that he was hugging his tummy. "You okay?"

Bee shook his helm. _"No, not really. My stomach still hurts 'cause that's where I got hit the most. Ow."_

"Well, I can help ease the pain if you want." Smokescreen saw the hesitant look in his friend's optics. "I'll be gentle, I promise."

Very slowly, Bumblebee removed his arms from his stomach. And very carefully, Smokescreen caressed his tummy, being careful to avoid the scars that were patched up. Bee emitted a soft purr in contentment.

"There. Did that help?" Smokey asked when he stopped.

_"A little, but thanks."_

"Only a little?" Smokescreen suddenly got off the berth. Bee watched curiously as he walked to the edge of the berth where his pedes where. "Y'know, Ratchet did say that I'm supposed to alert him if I saw anything wrong with you. And this looks concerning. I better com link him, and let him know what's happening here."

Bee squeaked in surprise as Smokescreen suddenly grabbed his right ankle. He giggled loudly again when he felt Smokey's fingers gently poke all over the underside of his ped, like if he was dialing a number on a cell phone.

"Hello? Ratchet?" Smokescreen asked as he held Bumblebee's ped up to his audio receptor. He was holding his ped and talking like if he was on the phone, which made Bee giggle cutely. Smokescreen was acting like a silly older brother trying to make his little brother laugh. And he was doing a great job at it. Bumblebee couldn't stop giggling at his silly antics.

"Yeah, I'm right here with Bee right now," Smokey kept talking while holding his ped. "Oh, he's just saying that his stomach still hurts."

While talking, Bee tried pulling his leg down, but Smokey kept a firm grip on his ankle. Could things possibly get any worse for him? Yes it could.

"Yeah, hold on. Let me right that down on a data pad." Smokescreen put Bumblebee's ankle down. He then climbed up on the berth, rested his hands on Bee's tummy, and then began moving his fingers in a rapid typing motion. He was moving his fingers like if he was actually typing on a keyboard.

_"Smokey!! Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee!! Stop, that tickles!!" _Bumblebee squirmed on the berth again, trying to push his hands away.

"One second, Ratchet. Bee, can't you see that I'm trying to write something down? I need you to stay quiet while Ratchet tells me what to write down. And you need to stay still in that berth! Remember what Ratchet said about not moving around so much?" Smokescreen couldn't help but chuckle at his own acting. He kept wiggling his fingers all over Bumblebee's upper and lower belly.

_"Stop!! Sto-ho-ho-ho-hop!! Hee-hee-hee!! I'm fine already!! Hee-hee-hee-hee!!" _The scout sighed in relief as soon as Smokescreen stopped, and his giggles died down.

"Now do you feel better?" Smokey asked. "Or does something else still hurt?"

Bee's optics widened. He quickly pulled his blanket down over his stomach. _"No! No, I'm fine! Nothing hurts anymore."_

"That's good. Let's get some sleep now. Good night, Bee." Smokescreen laid down next to him. Bee happily snuggled against him again.

_"Night, Smokey."_

**The next day**

Even though Bumblebee could now recover in the comfort of his own berthroom, he still couldn't leave the base. He couldn't even leave his room. Doctor's orders. It quickly became boring for him.

Luckily, Smokescreen decided to visit him during visiting hours when he could. All day long, he noticed how upset and sad Bumblebee looked. He wanted to cheer him up like he did the previous day, but Ratchet found out what he was doing to him and told him not to tickle him anymore so Bee wouldn't move around too much. He needed all the rest he could if he wanted to recover faster.

So how else could he make him feel better? Smokescreen thought to himself. He pondered and pondered in his room until his optics suddenly fell on his picture of 'Kittymus Prime Does Not Approve' on his desk.

He giggled to himself as he remembered that day. But he also mentally winced as he remembered just how ruthless Optimus was with them both, especially him. He was just glad that Optimus let him keep that picture.

But seeing that picture of the famous disapproving Kittymus inspired Smokescreen to draw another similar picture, just for Bumblebee.

When Smokescreen went back to Bumblebee's room, he saw that the lights were dimmed and he was laying motionless on the berth. "Pssst. Bee, are you asleep?" he whisper-shouted.

Mumbling tiredly, Bee answered, _"Mm-hmm."_

"Oh, okay...Do you know when you'll be awake?"

Bumblebee opened his optics in slight annoyance. _"I'm awake _now, _Smokey."_

"I thought you just said you were asleep."

_"Okay, just come in!" _Bee slowly sat up, and turned the lights on. He rubbed his optics tiredly. _"What do you want?"_

Smokescreen stood right beside him with his hands behind his back. "Well, I've noticed how glum you've been looking all morning. And so, I wanted to cheer you up. But first, random question." He leaned close to Bumblebee, and then glanced behind him as if to make sure no one was listening. "Have you noticed anything big and fluffy sneaking around the base?"

Bee tilted his helm in confusion. _"No. Why? Wait—what are you talking about?"_

"I'm talking about this." Smokescreen handed him the piece of paper he was holding behind his back. It was their picture of Optimus that they drew together with the caption above: KITTYMUS PRIME DOES NOT APPROVE.

The little scout giggled at the picture. "See this?" Smokey asked him, pointing to the drawing. "I had a hunch that the sneaky culprit behind your glum attitude was caused by none other than...Kittymus Prime!" Bee laughed harder.

"But that's not what I wanted to show you, Bee." Smokescreen pulled out another paper. "I drew this for you."

On the paper was another drawing of Kittymus, but in a sitting position. A cute smile was drawn on his face as he was purring like a happy cat.

The minute he laid optics on the drawing, Bumblebee laughed so hard he made his stomach hurt. He had a hard time controlling his loud giggles. But when he finally managed to calm himself down, he hugged the drawing close. _"Thank you, Smokey. This means a lot to me. And this makes me feel a lot better. It really does."_

"No problem, Bee," Smokescreen said while playfully rubbing his helm. "And I promise, I'll draw you more hilarious pictures like this one."

_"Oh, you don't have to do that."_

"Of course I do. I don't want you to be bored all day. Think of what I'm doing as a get well present for you."

Bumblebee glanced down at the drawing he was holding. _"Okay. But what about..?"_

Smokescreen knew what he was thinking. "Oh don't worry, Bee. If nosy Optimus finds out, I'll tell him it was all my idea. Which it kinda is."

Bee relaxed a little. _"Okay then." _He hugged the picture again. _"Thanks again for the drawing, Smokey. I love it!"_

"Anytime, buddy. And now, I take to the sky like an aerial bot!" Smokescreen attempted to jump out the door and touch the top of the doorway, but he tripped over himself and ended up crashing into the wall just centimeters next to the door.

Bumblebee laughed again, hugging at his sides. Smokescreen didn't mean to do that on purpose. But if it made Bee laugh, then it was worth recieving a slight bruise on his arm.

As soon as Smokescreen left his room, Optimus came in to check on him. Bumblebee quickly got his laughter under control the second he saw his leader walk in. But seeing the face of Prime made him want to laugh again because he reminded him of Kittymus Prime.

He tried to cover up his laughs by coughing. And then realizing that he still had the drawing in his lap, he quickly stuffed it behind his back.

"Bumblebee? What are you laughing at?"

_"Oh, I was um...just remembering a—funny joke Smokescreen told me earlier." _He nervously laughed, hoping Prime didn't see him hide the drawing.

But, as if he read his mind, Optimus asked, "What do you have behind your back?"

_"W-What?"_

"When I walked in here, I saw you hide something behind your back. What was it?"

_"Oh, umm..." _Bee didn't want to tell him the truth. Prime's reaction was unpredictable. He tried to change the subject. _"You know what? I'm feeling a lot better than yesterday. And I had no nightmares last night!"_

"Bumblebee, don't lie to me." He reached behind the scout to grab the paper.

_"No Optimus! Wait!" _But it was too late. Optimus managed to grab the drawing. He took one look at it, and his face darkened. Prime's face looked downright scary. Even his right optic twitched angrily.

"What is this?!" He exclaimed in an annoyed tone.

_"Uhh...a drawing?"_

"I can _see _that it's a drawing. I want to know why you drew me like a cat again! I thought I told you never to draw such pictures again!"

_"But I-I didn't draw it!" _Bumblebee nervously exclaimed. _"I-It was Smokescreen, I swear! In fact, he's making more of these drawings right now as we speak!"_

Optimus closed his optics and sighed, while running a hand over his face. "Oh Smokescreen..." he muttered to himself. "What am I going to do with that youngling?" He folded up the paper. "Well thank you for the information, Bumblebee. It looks like I need to have a little talk with Smokescreen about this once again." He patted his helm. "Just stay here and rest, okay?"

Bee nodded. _"Okay." _As soon as Prime left his room, he let out a sigh of relief. _"Phew...that was close. I sure hope Optimus isn't too hard on Smokey." _He giggled to himself. _"He sure can be a screaming mess when he's tickled."_

**In Smokescreen's room**

In his room, Smokescreen was working on another drawing just for Bee. He got the brilliant idea to draw Megatron as a robot cat, named Megakitty, to keep Bumblebee from having any nightmares or bad thoughts about the Decepticon leader. And plus, it looked absolutely hilarious.

"Now let's see..." Smokescreen pondered on a good caption to put on the drawing. "What best describes Megatron?"

He thought and thought until finally, the perfect caption came to mind. He remembered seeing a funny portrayal of this one cat titled: Grumpy Cat. And for some reason, it reminded him of the Decepticon leader.

So Smokescreen changed the facial expression to make 'Megakitty' look more like 'Grumpy Cat.' And when he was finished, he looked at the drawing and fell to his side, laughing hard. His 'Grumpy Megakitty' looked like an accurate representation of Megatron's mean face in real life.

Still giggling, Smokey pushed his paper to the side to work on another one. He wanted to draw something super special just for Bumblebee. And he knew exactly what he was going to draw: another picture of Kittymus Prime, but he would include Bumblebee, too.

He drew Bumblebee as a tiny little yellow and black kitten, and Optimus as the same Kittymus cat. He drew the two robot cats huddled together, purring happily. Kittymus was gazing down at the little yellow kitten, that Smokey decided to name Bee Bee—which was the cute nickname he called Bumblebee in real life—with fatherly affection, while Bee Bee happily snuggled against him.

While putting the finishing touches on the drawing, Smokescreen thought about putting another caption. And then the perfect caption hit him. At the top, he wrote with a black stylus pen: Kittymus loves you, Bee Bee. He thought this would bring Bumblebee great comfort after what happened the other day.

Just as he was finishing putting little pink hearts all over the paper, the door to his room slid open. The second he saw Optimus Prime walk in, Smokescreen scrambled to hide all his drawings back in his nearby folder.

"O-Optimus! Hi! Um...what brings you here on this lovely day?" Smokescreen tried to hide the nervousness in his voice.

"Care to explain _this?_" Optimus unfolded the paper in his hands, and nearly shoved it in Smokey's face.

Smokescreen nervously laughed. "Well uh...I see you found one of my new drawings. It's pretty good, huh? I mean, do you see all the detail and everything that I put on my drawings?"

"I don't care about the accurate details," Prime said in an annoyed tone. "I want to know why you had the nerve to draw me like that again."

"W-Well, you see—"

"Wait," Optimus interrupted. He pointed to a piece of paper that wasn't fully covered by the folder. "What is that?"

Smokescreen looked down. He was pointed to his drawing of Kittymus and Bee snuggling together. "Oh this?" he said, pushing the paper under the folder. "Uh...it's just paper."

"No it's not. Give it to me."

"No."

Optimus held out a threatening hand. "Give it to me. Now," he said in a demanding tone. When Smokescreen made no response, Optimus quickly snatched the folder out of his hands.

Smokey attempted to grab it back. And in the process, he was able to snag back his two newest drawings. When he had the drawings in his hands, he right away hid them behind his back. So even if Optimus opened his folder to look inside, he would only see the 'Kittymus Prime Does Not Approve' drawing.

"What were you thinking?" Optimus asked once he had the folder. "That you were just going to draw me like a robot cat again, and then just keep it in here and wave it around like it's some kind of parade float!"

"You yanked it right out of my hands," Smokescreen argued. He kept his hands behind his back, hiding the two folded up drawings.

When Optimus opened up the folder to scold Smokescreen about his drawings again, he was surprised when he just saw the picture of 'Kittymus Prime Does Not Approve.'

"See?" Smokey said, still keeping his hands behind his back. "That's all I have in there."

Prime squinted at the youngling suspiciously. "Wait...What do you have behind your back?"

Smokescreen had to hold back a wince. Obviously, he didn't think Optimus would ask that question. And at that moment, he instantly regretted not coming up with an emergency backup plan.

Calmly, he answered, "I just like holding my hands behind my back, that's all."

"Then show me your hands."

Smokescreen froze. He did some last minute quick thinking. Very carefully, he slid the drawings upward to perch right in between his door wings. "Okay, fine," he said. He revealed his empty hands. "See? I don't have anything."

All of a sudden, the sounds of paper falling to the floor could be heard behind the young bot. Optimus was able to see two pieces of paper fall down to the floor behind Smokescreen.

Just as the Prime was about to grab the papers, Smokey stopped him by stepping in front of him and flaring out his door wings to make himself look more intimidating.

Optimus stepped back, suprised that the young bot actually had the nerve to step up against him.

"No!" he exclaimed. "It's only for Bee, and I'm not letting you take it away from me! And you can't make me get rid of it, either!"

Now Prime was started to get frustrated. Why did Smokescreen have to make this so difficult? he wondered.

He took a deep breath to calm himself. "Smokescreen, I was informed earlier that you decided to continue this new trend of 'Kittymus Prime' drawings, and I want to know why. I saw you drawing something like that when I walked in. Is this true what you are doing?"

"Of course not," said Smokey. "All I'm doing is just little doodles on the paper. I like to express my inner artist every now and then."

Optimus showed him the Kittymus drawing again. "Is it true that you are drawing me like this once again?"

Smokescreen didn't know what to say anymore. He needed to get out of there. And fast! "Um...I'm coming, Bee!" he called out into the hallway. He was about to walk out of his room, but Optimus stopped him by blocking his path.

"Bumblebee did not even call you."

"I heard his whistle!"

"Are you drawing me like Kittymus Prime or not?"

Instead of answering, Smokescreen made a mad dash to the door. But Optimus was faster than him. He easily tackled and pinned Smokescreen to the floor.

Smokey struggled to free his legs that were pinned as Optimus sat on them. "Optimus, c'mon! Seriously? Is drawing now considered a crime in this base?"

"Only if the drawings are aimed at me to depict me in some ridiculous, humorous way," Prime answered. "Now then, just let me see how you decided to draw me, and nobody gets hurt. Especially you."

"But I told you, it's only for Bumblebee."

"Oh, I see," Optimus said while lightly running his fingers up and down along Smokescreen's sides. If he didn't want to spill, the Prime had other methods to make him talk. "So you are keeping _secrets _from me? Is that what this is?"

"W-What?! No-ho-ho-ho!" Smokescreen tried to keep a serious face, but he was giggling as Optimus kept stroking his fingers along his sides. He flinched with a squeal when he felt Prime's digits jab into his sides.

"Don't lie to me, Smokescreen. You better tell me the truth right now."

"Hee-hee-hee! No way! Hee-hee-hee-hee! I-I'll never talk!" Smokey still didn't want Optimus to see his drawings. So he figured he could handle a few little tickles from the leader as he used that as his tactic to make him spill. He was wrong. So wrong!

Only three and a half minutes passed, and Smokescreen was already losing it. He was at his limit, but he still refused to let a few tickles make him break. But this wasn't just a few little tickles.

The playful Prime leaned down, and was blowing endless raspberries against his tummy. And that tickled like crazy! But Smokescreen couldn't do a thing to save himself because his legs were pinned down, and his hands were pinned next to his sides.

And all Smokescreen could do was lay there on the floor, and laugh his hardest. "AAAAAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! NO STO-HO-HO-HO-HOP! STOP I-HI-HI-HIT PLEA-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEASE!"

"Then you better hand over those pictures. Or else—" Smokey screamed and giggled loudly as another raspberry was blown against the metallic surface of his belly. "_PFFFFFFFFFF!"_

"AAAAAAAAAH! STOP IT! STAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP!" Smokescreen somehow managed to free his trapped arms, and braced his hands against Prime's helm. _At least he's not tickling me where I'm most ticklish on my stomach, _he thought as he kept on laughing.

Then, just as if Optimus read his mind, he pressed his lips against the metal plate where his bellybutton would be and blew hard. "_PFFFFFFFFFF! PFFFFFFFFFF!"_

Smokey grasped onto Prime's antennas and pulled while laughing his hardest. "AAAAAAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAAAA! NO-HO-HO-HO-HO! NO PLEASE STAAAAAAA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP! OPTIMUS PLEA-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEASE!"

But nothing happened. His tummy was still being attacked with raspberries, and even soft nipping. And every time Smokescreen tried to squirm or crawl away, he would just get pulled back and get tickled some more. He knew what he had to do.

"OKAY, OKA-HA-HA-HA-HAY! HA-HA-HA-HA! I-I'LL SHOW YOU-HOO-HOO-HOO! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! J-JUST STOP TICKLING ME-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE!"

Finally, the torturous tickling stopped. It took Smokescreen a few long minutes for him to calm down and cool his systems.

"Okay, here," he said, handing Optimus the drawing before he got tickled again.

"Well it's about time," Prime answered annoyingly as he took the paper. "You are in big

trouble, you hear me? I've told you many times before not to draw me like—" He stopped mid sentence and grew quiet when he studied the drawing.

On the paper he saw that Smokescreen had drew him like Kittymus once again, but he also drew Bumblebee there with him as well. A small smile spread across his face as he saw the cat version of him snuggling and cuddling against the little yellow kitten that was supposed to be Bumblebee. And on the top, the words 'Kittymus loves you, Bee Bee' were written. At that moment, Optimus forgot all about scolding Smokescreen.

"J-Just let me explain, Optimus," Smokey nervously said, as he was still pinned down by the leader. "I-I just wanted to cheer Bee up and make him happy after what happened yesterday. And so that's why I drew him this picture. Look, if you're mad at me, I completely understand. You can go ahead and rip my face off, or send me to the morgue. But can you just do me a favor and give Bee this picture?"

Optimus stayed quiet, still studying the picture in his hands. He was amazed at all the detail Smokescreen put into the drawing. But he was mostly surprised that he wasn't making fun of him in the drawing like he thought he was.

"Smokescreen, it's okay," he finally said.

"Y-You're not mad?"

Prime shook his helm. Smokescreen still didn't look too convinced. To show him that he really wasn't mad, Optimus gently petted the youngling's helm. "I'm not mad. It's okay. And to answer your question, yes I will personally deceived this picture to Bumblebee." He paused for a second before adding, "But only if you do not have any more drawings. Understand?"

Smokescreen slowly nodded. When Optimus wasn't looking, he slid a hand behind his back and crossed his fingers.

Of course he still had another drawing. He still had the drawing of 'Grumpy Megakitty' hidden behind his back. But he didn't want Optimus to know.

As Prime got off of him and Smokescreen sat up, the sound of crinkling paper could be heard.

"Wait a second. What's that?"

"What?" Smokey asked. He sat up, and froze when he heard the sound of paper crinkling again. He didn't think he would accidentally press against the paper when he sat up.

Optimus crossed his arms, and glared at him. "You have another drawing behind you, don't you?"

"What? No." Smokescreen tried to hide the paper behind his back.

Optimus squinted suspiciously and then tried to grab the drawing. It quickly turned into a small scuffle, as Smokescreen and Prime were fighting for the picture.

"Give it to me!"

"No!"

"Just let me see it!"

Smokescreen hugged his drawing close to his chest. "No!" When Prime tried to snatch his drawing, Smokey stuffed it behind his back.

Optimus knelt down next to him, and suddenly smirked. "I can see that you do not want to show me your drawing again. However, I can also see that you want to be tickled again."

Smokey gasped. While he was laying down and having both his hands behind his back, he also exposed his belly. But before he could say anything or react, Prime shot his hands at his stomach and wiggled his fingers rapidly.

Smokescreen giggled loudly, and turned on his side. "AH! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! NO PLEASE! NOT AGAI-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAIN!"

As he tried to curl on his side to protect his tummy, Prime just rolled him back on his back and continued to tickle him. Optimus could hear the paper wrinkling behind Smokey's back as he was squirming around.

"STOP! STA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP!" Smokescreen pushed at Optimus' hands to make him stop. He pushed Prime away as he tried to grab his picture again.

"So that's how it's going to be, huh?" he heard him say. Smokey screamed with hysterical laughter as the playful leader blew loudly on his tummy while shaking his helm. "_PFFFFFFFFFF!"_

"AAAAAAAAAAH! NO-HO-HO-HO-HO! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAAAA! STOP IT! STOP IT! STAAAAA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP!"

Smokescreen couldn't take it anymore! So he finally took out the now wrinkled paper. His laughing turned to soft giggling as Prime got off him and stopped tickling him. He still didn't let go of the drawing as Optimus tried to pluck it from his fingers.

"Listen," Smokey said as soon as he calmed down. "Before I show you this, I just want you to know that I really didn't meant to draw this. I-It was just a random idea that popped in my helm! A-And—" Smokescreen covered his belly. "Please don't tickle me anymore!"

He very reluctantly handed Optimus the drawing. When he turned over the paper and looked at the drawing, his optics widened to their fullest extent and his mouth dangled wide open. Smokescreen had to fight the urge to giggle because Optimus' expression looked just like the OMG cat.

But after a long minute, Optimus still had his mouth open and his optics nearly bulging out of his helm. Smokescreen was starting to grow concerned for his leader. He didn't even move an inch. He seemed completely frozen while holding his drawing of Megakitty.

Suddenly, his shoulders started to slightly tremble. Optimus shut his optics tightly, and covered his mouth.

"Um, Optimus?" No response. "Optimus?" Smokescreen gently shook his shoulder.

The Prime suprised Smokey by bursting into laughter. Clutching the picture, Optimus laughed until there were tears in his optics. Smokescreen laughed along with him, and wanted to make his leader laugh more.

"If you think that drawing is funny, then you'll love my other ideas!" said Smokescreen, as Prime tried to get his laughs under control. He pointed to his drawing. "Like, imagine if I drew Megakitty hissing like an angry cat. That would really represent his angry personality!"

"W-Wait," Optimus said in between silent laughs. "You mean to tell me...t-that you named him..._Megakitty?" _

Smokescreen giggled and nodded. "Uh-huh!" The Autobot leader hunched over, and continued to laugh. "That's right! The evil Megakitty! Ready to conquer the universe, and cause cat-tastrophe! _Hissssss!" _Smokey hissed like an angry cat, and stretched out his fingers to look like claws.

Optimus laughed even harder at the youngling's impression of an angry cat. And Smokescreen grinned as his actions were making his leader laugh harder and harder. He was definitely pleased that he could finally make Prime laugh.

But what really made the Autobot leader laugh his hardest was when Smokescreen got down on all fours, and wiggled his rear end like a cat ready to pounce.

Poor Prime laughed so hard, his knee joints felt weak and he was gasping and coughing for air. His cheeks felt hot as his internal systems were heating from all that laughing. "Please, Smokescreen..! Ha-ha-ha! No more—No more jokes, please!"

Smokescreen grinned as he was satisfied that he made Optimus lose it by making him laugh. He secretly took a snapshot of the still giggling Prime for his memory banks, and made a mental note to show Bumblebee later.

"This...This is—ha-ha—beautiful, Smokescreen," Prime said, still giggling. "I can promise you that we will definitely keep this picture."

"Really?" The youngling's optics lit up. "Wow. Thanks, Optimus. And you know...if we ever happen to run in with Megatron in the future, you won't have to be intimidated by him anymore. You know why?" Smokescreen pointed to the drawing of Megakitty in Optimus' hands. "Because now, you can imagine him as a big grumpy Megakitty frowning at you."

For the second time, Prime nearly lost it. He covered his mouth, and emitted muffled laughs. But he was quick to stop himself.

"Hey, now can we give this to Bee?" Smokescreen asked excitedly.

Optimus nodded. "Yes you may. But first—I cannot believe I'm saying this, but...I would like a copy of this drawing to keep for myself."

Smokescreen beamed inside. He was greatly pleased in himself. Not only did he succeed in making his leader laugh, but he also made him fall in love with his drawing so much that he actually wanted a copy of it.

"No problem, Prime," he said. "I'll have a copy of this printed out for you tomorrow. But for now, I'll go ahead and give this to Bee!" He took the paper from Optimus' hands, and ran out of his room.

"Hold on, Smokescreen! Bumblebee's not in his room, he's in the med bay with Ratchet!" Prime called out. A few seconds later, he saw Smokescreen run in the other direction towards the med bay.

**In the med bay**

Ratchet was just finishing up a physical checkup with Bumblebee when Smokescreen bursted through the doors.

"Hey, Bee! Bee! You gotta see this!" Smokescreen excitedly bounced up to the scout, shaking his shoulder.

"Be careful with him!" Ratchet barked. "He's not supposed to move around too much!"

_"Ratchet, I told you I'm _fine_," _Bee answered. He turned his attention to Smokescreen. _"Now what is it you want to show me?"_

"This!" Smokey handed him the drawing. The minute Bumblebee laid optics in it, he trilled with loud laughter and giggles. He started coughing in between his laughs.

"Smokescreen, stop making him laugh so much!" Ratchet scolded. "He needs to recover!"

"Aw chillax, Ratch," said Smokey. "I've heard that laughter is the best medicine, and it looks like Bee's got enough of that now." The medic just rolled his optics.

Ratchet put his tools away, and left the med bay. "I don't know how you can tolerate those two," he said on the way out to Optimus, who was leaning against the doorway. He came in to see one last look of 'Grumpy Megakitty'.

"See? I drew this for you so you don't have to be afraid of Megatron anymore."

_"Aww thanks, Smokey! I'll treasure this forever and ever!" _He giggled at the picture again. _"I definitely won't get scared around Megatron anymore, thanks to you." _He hugged Smokescreen around his waist. "_Thank you, Smokey. You're the best!"_

Smokescreen returned the hug. "No problem, buddy."

For the rest of their time in the med bay, the two younglings—including Optimus—were laughing at the Megakitty drawing. They all had a good time laughing about their worst enemy who was now depicted as a cat. They wouldn't be scared of him anymore after seeing that picture, especially Bumblebee.

**THE END**


End file.
